


Dinosaur Digs

by creepysteeples



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, Episode: s01e06 Blast From the Past, Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, TECHNICALLY canon compliant just trust me, prowl and bulkhead adopt three children, they are definitely in love in canon that part was compliant too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:07:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27447598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creepysteeples/pseuds/creepysteeples
Summary: The Dinobots were slated to be melted down for spare parts in the morning, and Prowl couldn't allow for that. Biting off more than he could chew, it's a good thing Bulkhead figured out he was up to something and decided to show up to lend a servo. Now it was up to the two of them to rescue the Dinobots from a cruel fate, and maybe work on acknowledging some feelings they've picked up for each other along the way.(Or; How Prowl And Bulkhead Adopt Three Kids)Takes place during the events of "Blast From the Past."
Relationships: Bulkhead/Prowl (Transformers)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 32





	Dinosaur Digs

Prowl has to admit, he didn’t really think this one through.

Three enormous Dinobots, a gigantic slab of asphalt, and a slender-framed ninja-bot who relied heavily on stealth rather than strength. This wasn’t one of his finer plans..

It had hardly been even 2 megacycles since the Dinobots were captured. In a few megacycles more, they’re slated to be melted down for scrap.

Of course, Prowl couldn’t stand for that.

Sitting down next to Grimlock’s exposed head, he lets out a weary sigh.

Initially, his plan had been to free and transport them in secret (butting helms with Prime wasn’t on his to-do list), but there had been a few (well, a lot) of bumps in the road. In fact, the road in question could do with paving over entirely. He couldn’t afford to attract attention, lest he be caught, but he put all his thought into the stealth. The strength? Not so much.

“Alright, I’m going to try again. This time, put your whole body into it. If we combine our abilities, it’ll be easier to crack the asphalt.”

And so, the cycle continued.

\- - -

_ Primus help me, I can’t believe this. _

Bulkhead thought to himself, speeding along inconspicuously as he could manage to the park. The same park the incident with the Dinobots had occurred earlier, and where he was certain Prowl ran off to.

Okay, well, he totally can believe this. Finding Prowl’s room empty as he went to check up on him earlier didn’t come as a shock. The cyber-ninja was never too keen on taking orders.

Bulkhead thought back to earlier that solar cycle. Immediately upon their return, Prowl had rather silently excused himself to his room. Not that Prowl was exactly renowned for being chatty.

His frustration over the Dinobot situation had been all too evident, try as he might to keep a lid on it in front of Prime.

While he gave off the impression of wanting to be left alone, Bulkhead still felt it was right to check in on him...

\- - -

“I’m perfectly fine.” Tending to his tree, Prowl was just as gentle as he was stealthy, Bulkhead noticed, as he lightly ran a digit along the ridges in the tree trunk. “Rather, I should be asking about you.”

Smooth both in frame  _ and _ trying to dodge the subject.

As if Bulkhead could resist hearing what Prowl had to say about him.

“ _ Huh?  _ What about me? _ ” _

“Our talk was cut short, remember?” Prowl turned his attention to the big bot. “I’m proud of you for playing by your strengths.”

As if Bulkhead’s spark leaping at the compliment wasn’t enough, the hint of a smile on Prowl’s faceplate made it do a backflip for added measure.

“What!? Nah, haha, it was nothing! I was just listening to you, and all…”

“I must admit…” Prowl sat on his words for a nanoklik. “... I wasn’t sure about teaching you  _ my _ techniques. What I should have pushed from the start was you learning to play by your own strengths. Your determination to learn was just…” he lifted a servo, turning it over in the air as he looked for the word “ _ contagious, to put it simply _ .”

“ _ And _ you wanted to prove Bumblebee wrong?”

“That was both of us.” There was that mischievous smirk Bulkhead loved to see.

“We probably could have saved a lot of trouble if you had just said so from the start, y’know. But… hanging out with the awesome mysterious cyber-ninja totally makes up for all the destruction of public property.” Yeah that sounded way smoother in his processor.

Prowl’s expression shifted. His signature smirk to a quizzical little triangle. He could shift gears just as quickly as he moved in combat.

“We’ve all had a long solar cycle.” Prowl stated flatly, returning his attention to the tree to busy himself with nothing in particular. “Our hero would do good with a well deserved stasis nap.”

Hero… How did Prowl expect him to get a wink of stasis when the coolest bot from Earth to Cybertron was calling him a hero?

\- - -

_ Slag. _ Is THAT why Prowl rushed him to rest!? And he fell for it like a SUCKER! Why does he have to be so…  _ Ohhh! _

Bulkhead speeds ahead in his (flustered) frustration, approaching the park where the Dinobots were defeated and contained. Thanks to Bulkhead’s quick thinking and strength… and, well, a little encouragement from Prowl.

It doesn’t take him long to see the giant slab of asphalt come into view, the energy cage that contained it now deactivated.

Bulkhead should’ve expected just as much. Honestly, he’s a little surprised nobody else has caught on. Either way, he was here, and it was a better time than ever to try utilizing what Prowl taught him.

Move like a gentle wind.

Transforming out of his alt-mode, he creeps closer to the Dinobot’s prison. An undersized tree and bushes don’t exactly make the best camouflage, but Prowl shouldn’t notice, right?

Yup, there he was. Once Bulkhead gets a good angle, he spots Prowl grasping onto a robotic T-rex head in a desperate, and, quite honestly, pathetic attempt to free him.

Prowl just can’t stop committing some sorta weird act of rebellion every other day, huh?

He could definitely use a servo. A big one.

Bulkhead isn’t quick to jump in and save the day, though. For just a nanoklik more, he stands by and assesses the situation. Besides… It’s not every solar cycle you get to see Prowl of all bots have such a hard time. Stubborn as ever.

The nanokliks turn to cycles as Bulkhead watches on, snickering to himself until he snaps himself out of it. Prowl’s determination was endearing and all, but at this rate, those Dinobots were as good as extinct.

Choose your move.

On the tips of his pedes, he emerges from his hiding spot.

“Need a servo? Or two..?” He calls out, carefully walking towards the slab and its current residents.

_ “Scrap.” _

Bulkhead swears he saw Prowl give the T-Rex a pat on the helm as he let go, apprehensively making his way towards the edge of the asphalt prison.

“Bulkhead... what are you doing here?” The ninja-bot speaks up as he crouches, peering over the edge.

“I got kinda suspicious since I didn’t see you around for a nanoklik. And there was the whole, y’know, snapping at Prime for wanting to melt down the Dinobots and all that…” He crosses his arms. “So I figured if you were doing anything, it was gonna be something that’d get you in trouble. And I was right.” Bulkhead’s lucky that smirk of his is cute.

“What happened to that hero’s stasis I told you to get?”

“I can take a stasis nap anytime!” Bulkhead flashes him a cheeky grin. “But right now it looks like I gotta be the hero again. You really got yourself in a mess, huh Prowl?”

“I can’t just allow them to be melted down as if they don’t have their own thoughts and feelings...” Prowl grumbles.

Bulkhead gives a little nod, barely nudging the hunk of asphalt with the end of his stabilizing servo.

“And what’re you gonna do to get them out?”

“I... didn’t get quite that far. Yet.” Prowl sheepishly glances off to the side. “I was hoping my shurikens would be enough, but I can hardly break through... by the time I have Grimlock out alone, it’ll already be sunrise.”

With a contemplative hum, Bulkhead reaches up to clasp his lower jaw, making a real show of it.

“So you jumped into something…  _ without _ stopping and thinking ahead...?”

“ _ Don’t get smart with me. _ ”

“Okay, Okay, I’m only kidding!” Bulkhead laughs.

He holds up his servo and shifts it into a wrecking ball with a wink.

“It’s a good thing I came along, then. You’re gonna need a lot more than some throwing stars to get outta this one.”

“You’re... going to help?” Perhaps this wasn’t something that should have come as a genuine shock. Even so, a sense of relief quickly washed over Prowl.

“Yeah, well.. I mean I’m not gonna go back to base and snitch on you or anything! Besides, you’re right, we can’t just let ‘em get melted down.”

Prowl’s silent for a moment, and Bulkhead almost swears he can spot a hint of a smile gracing his faceplate.

“It would be wisest to free them from the top down... after all, I’m sure they’re going to want to become properly acquainted with their savior.”

Bulkhead rolls his optics, trying to keep a lid on his chuckling as he starts climbing up the block.

“Savior. Sure. You’re the one who came here in the first place, I was just following!”

Truth be told, Bulkhead couldn’t help but be a  _ little _ nervous. Even if he bested them, those Dinobots were something fierce, and with their jaws exposed? He’ll be within ideal biting range.

But as Bulkhead steadies himself, pulling himself up on top and making a cautious approach, he could see plainly there would be little fighting. The Dinobots were resting their helms on the asphalt in defeat, optics flickering over to Bulkhead.

Prowl follows, kneeling next to the T-Rex. Grimlock, was it? Yeah, that sounds right. Kinda hard to forget, with the whole, saying it every time he opened his big mouth.

Leaning in for a closer look, Bulkhead could see Prowl wasn’t exactly forged for heavy lifting. Despite his best efforts, he hardly made a dent in the asphalt enclosing Grimlock’s neck.

Grimlock gives an aggravated, yet tired, huff, looking up at Bulkhead with weary optics. Bulkhead returns the gaze, his confidence beginning to falter a smidge, now that he’s right up next to the very bots he went buck wild fighting earlier.

“They’re not gonna try and run away and start trashing stuff again once we get them out, are they?”

“I don’t think so. It has to have been half a megacycle of this by now. They have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on...” Prowl speaks so earnestly, Bulkhead’s concerns begin to fade as he gives a hum and looks over the Dinobots. They all look pretty tired... almost pitiful, he’s gotta admit.

Hesitantly, he reaches up to give Grimlock a rub on the nose. Grimlock, however, gives a low rumble and tilts his head as far away from Bulkhead’s servo as he can manage. His exhaustion was obvious, and if he had the energy, the full extent of his frustration would be on display too.

“Alright. Guess we better get to work, then.” Bulkhead says, pulling his servo back.

“Grimlock, this is Bulkhead... I’m  _ certain _ you remember him.” Prowl speaks to the Dinobot in that same gentle tone he reserved for Sari. It would be a little hard to forget the bot who handed their afts to them earlier. “He’s going to help get you out of here. There won’t be anymore fighting...” He gives Grimlock a reassuring rub on the snout.

“Be sure to be mindful of where the rest of his body is. The Dinobots need to be able to save some strength for the upcoming trip.” Prowl takes a few steps back as Bulkhead readies his wrecking ball. Primus forbid any stray debris take him out in the midst of this.

Grimlock gives Bulkhead a quick looking up and down before whipping his head in the other direction, grumbling something to himself quietly as he could manage.

“I got it. The hardest one to get out is gonna be that littlest one, though.” He nods his helm towards the pteranodon, revving up his wrecking ball. “But large and in charge here will probably be just fine!”

Bulkhead takes a few steps back before letting his wrecking ball loose and giving it a good heave over his head, slamming it into the asphalt by Grimlock. Shutting his optics tightly, Grimlock gives a yelp, small fragments of asphalt tinking against his head as Bulkhead works away. The T-Rex squirms and twists, pushing to get out as the asphalt slowly begins to give.

Bulkhead gives a small huff.

“You gotta hold still! I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise!”

Prowl can only watch on, shielding himself from any rogue fragments with his arms. Bulkhead’s strength was something to be admired when he put it to work like this, no holding back, no anxieties. What had taken Prowl half a megacycle to achieve, Bulkhead did that and beyond in just a few nanokliks. To think, just earlier that solar cycle, Bulkhead was down on himself for not being more like  _ Prowl _ . The flicker of newfound confidence couldn’t help but warm Prowl’s spark. He deserved to allow himself more credit for what  _ he _ was capable of.

“Grimlock, please... I promise you’re all going to be free soon. You just have to hold still and let Bulkhead work. The faster you’re out, the sooner you’ll never have to see another car or truck  _ or _ car robot ever again.” Prowl soothed.

Grimlock whines and struggles a bit more before huffing and dipping his head down in resignation.

“Me Grimlock tired... Me just don’t want to get hit...”

“I’m not gonna hit you, big guy, I promise. I’ll be extra careful.” Bulkhead reels his wrecking ball in. Normally, he would just yank it back and give it another good slam, but he doesn’t want to freak the poor Dinobot out anymore than he already was. He had to turn it down just a notch. Use some of that patience Prowl taught him, execute with graceful precision.

Bulkhead sees that these Dinobots... they’re not all that bad, are they? They get scared and tired and lose motivation. He almost felt bad for trashing them now, if it weren’t for the whole trying to tear him, Prowl, and all of the city of Detroit, a new one. Prowl really was onto something, huh? Bulkhead wishes he could be as perceptive as him.

He slams the wrecking ball down to Grimlock’s opposite side, and while Grimlock winces a little in fear, this time around there’s no struggling or writhing.

Prowl continues to observe off to the side. It was fascinating to see Bulkhead take such great care with his strength. Now he was holding himself back, but this is different. Prowl can see the thought behind his actions. When he wasn’t down on himself, driven simply by doing what he thought was right… It was clear as the moonlit night that Bulkhead has many of his own strengths he has yet to recognize.

“Once they’re free, we have to make our way to the docks. I’ve mapped out the quickest and safest route, to avoid giving ourselves away. If all goes as planned, it should be smooth sailing from there.” As Prowl speaks, he makes his way over to the triceratops to look him over next.

He can’t recall any names besides Grimlock’s being given, and the only name Grimlock seems to be capable of saying is his own on an entirely constant basis. The triceratops got the short end of the stick, stuck in an uncomfortable position, lopsided, and resting his cheek against the solidified asphalt. Though as Prowl approaches, he lifts his head and gives almost a small coo.

“The docks?? Where are you gonna put them, in the middle of the lake?” Bulkhead jokes.

“Well... yes, essentially.” Slowly, the ninja-bot crouches and holds out his servo for the Dinobot, who seems the most mild mannered. Bulkhead recognizes this move. Prowl said it was customary to do with the dogs on this planet. “You remember the island I took you to for training? Since it’s abandoned and so out of the way, it should make a perfect home for the Dinobots. Peaceful, plenty of space to roam... with all the trees, there’s no shortage of logs to toss around.  _ And _ since they’re not organic, they shouldn’t take a toll on the local ecosystem as far as their diet goes.”

“Huh... that’s a pretty smart idea... You sure they’re not gonna go all nuts and bolts on their own?” With another strike of the wrecking ball, he accidentally launches a few shattered fragments at Grimlock’s snout. Bulkhead mumbles a small ‘sorry’, trying to dust it off with those big claws of his. Grimlock gives a big fiery sneeze, however, sending Bulkhead tripping backwards. Prowl has to stifle a laugh at the sight.

“The thing that they took issue with were the cars and trucks, and...  _ us _ , for some reason... If they’re on the island, that removes the problem. We cover our tracks, they disappear without a trace, and no one ever has to know what happened.” Prowl returns his gaze to the trike, inching closer. The triceratops strains to crane his neck and push his nose closer towards Prowl’s digits, giving them a tentative sniff. Slowly, he pushes his nose into Prowl’s servo with a small, almost content rumble.

“There... I knew you couldn’t be all bad.” A smile crossed Prowl’s faceplate as he began to gently scritch under the Dinobot’s chin. “I’m certain they’ll be happier there.”

The triceratops leans into his touch even more, lavishing in the attention. Tilting his head, he quickly grabs hold of Prowl’s servo in his mouth, not chomping down particularly hard, but with a hold firm enough to tug Prowl’s arm around. Prowl leans back, taken aback at the sudden bite. Given his servo is still attached to the rest of him, the action doesn’t appear hostile. No, he’s seen this behavior before, in those organic felines. Just a playful nibble.

Bulkhead looks over at Prowl for a moment, catching his puzzled expression just as the trike bit down. A goofy grin plastered on his faceplate, Bulkhead couldn’t help but admire how Prowl treated these Dinobots with the same care he afforded any other organic, dauntless in the faceplates of these giants.

_ Wait, was this staring? _ With a shake of his head, Bulkhead speaks up.

“Uh- Yeah, I guess the hustle and bustle of the city would make anybody go out of their processor… Sounds like you got it all figured out to me!”

Bulkhead gives a pleased nod, but before he can pull back his wrecking ball again, a piercing screech rings in all of their audials. Prowl quickly takes his servos to cover his own audials with a glance over at the poor Dinobot that’s screaming his helm off. The pteranodon is restless. He keeps moving and craning his head and neck to get a look at Prowl and Bulkhead, directing his angry squawks and hisses in the trike’s direction. It was attention he craved. The other two had all optics on them while he was left to  _ rust _ .

“Looks like we know who the fussy one is,” Prowl teases, the triceratops making a small, and quite frankly oh-so-pitiful noise as he gets up to leave. An attempt to bite his servo again is made, but he  _ just _ misses it.

“You can’t be so loud. If we’re found out, _no_ Dinbot’s ever getting any more attention.” Prowl kneels down, servo out, for the pteranodon next, who’s tantrum comes to a halt. He snaps his beak at the servo in aggravation. Ignoring him and then a scolding? Give a Dinobot a break! He glares at Prowl’s servo, narrowing his optics before turning his head up and away from him.

“Hey, you and him have a lot in common!” Bulkhead loudly laughs out.

Prowl whips his head around at Bulkhead, his glare burning through his visor.

“ _ I’m not that much of a spoiled brat. _ ” It’s not often any bot gets to see Prowl pout like that. Bulkhead might just be lucky, huh?

“ _ That  _ much?”

“OR nearly as loud and fussy.”

“I dunno about that…” Bulkhead chuckles, optics lingering on Prowl.

Turning back to the pteranodon with a huff, Prowl reasserts himself, holding out his servo more firmly.

“If you don’t, I’m going right back to your tri-horned sibling over there.”

The pteranodon’s optics snap open and he quickly turns his head to shove his beak into Prowl’s servo, and consequently, into his chestplate.

“ _ Now _ you change your tune...” Prowl sighs with a roll of his optics, petting the poor attention-starved Dinobot’s beak. “You’ll get plenty more of this once we get you out. Just have some patience.” At this, the pteranodon immediately perks up, his demeanor sweetening, cooing as he happily brushes his beak against Prowl.

“You should probably work a tad faster... unless you’re looking to become a chew toy.” He glances over at Bulkhead, pointing out Grimlock beginning to nip at his pedes.

“I’m working on it, I’m working on it! Grimlock, knock it off!” Bulkhead finally rips his optics off of the ninja-bot, quickly stepping out of the way of Grimlock’s jaws. Grimlock giggles, playfully snapping and nipping for a bit longer, before letting out a disgruntled huff.

“But me bored… Me just wanna get out now!” He wiggles a little. Since Bulkhead’s started working on him, he’s loosened out a bit, but not quite enough for him to get out.

“Grimlock, you can nibble at Bulkhead once you’re free. We still have your siblings to get to.” But it was hard for Prowl to not grin at the sight, seeing how easily Grimlock’s warmed up to Bulkhead. That’s just like Bulkhead, isn’t it? Even the most closed off bots can’t help but be pulled out of their shells by his friendly demeanor. If Prowl isn’t careful, he could very well be next... of course, he’s too proud to admit to himself it was already happening.

It wasn’t long before Prowl’s pulled out of his thoughts by a very crabby beak, prompted to continue to attend to the pteranodon. Looking over him more, there’s a different thought crossing his processor.

“Grimlock... do these other two have names?”

Grimlock looks at the triceratops and the pteranodon.

“Mm… No. Them don’t talk. Me Grimlock named me Grimlock!”

“That’s an interesting name, isn’t it? How did you decide on that?” He had been under the assumption that maybe Sumdac named Grimlock, as some kind of project designation or something along those lines. Of course, this was Sumdac. Brilliant as they come, but if it had totally slipped the professor’s mind to name the other two, it wouldn’t be the greatest shock of Prowl’s life.

“Me thought of it..?” He hums and tilts his head to the side. “How did me think of it… Me don’t remember… Grim… Lock... Grim... Lock....” He repeats, tilting his head to and fro to think about it, letting the words roll off his tongue all the while (an excellent distraction for Bulkhead, who’s swiftly trying to crack more asphalt). Ultimately, Grimlock gives a small resigned shrug. “Me don’t remember!”

“Interesting... well, I suppose it doesn’t matter much if the other two don’t have names. That’s up to them.” Prowl still can’t help but wonder, but… it can’t  _ possibly _ be that important.

Bulkhead gives a huff and pauses his work to pick up a hunk of asphalt, tossing it off the slab.

“I was worried for a second you were gonna say we have to name them or something.”

“Us? Don’t be ridiculous, they aren’t pets.” He says as he absentmindedly continues to scritch the pteranodon under the chin, who’s content rumbling resembled that of a pleased, oversized cybercat.

Bulkhead stops to watch for just a second, before chuckling to himself and continuing his work.

“Well, I was thinking more like how they do at boot camp.” He tosses another piece of asphalt.

“Ohh… That’s right, they do assign new names, don’t they?” Not that Prowl would know much about any of that mess.

“Yep! Some get luckier than others... I mean come on, Optimus? That’s an awesome name.” The large mech shoots his wrecking ball into the asphalt beside Grimlock, followed by a particularly loud  _ CRACK. _

It should only take one more good shot and Grimlock’s as good as free.

“Optimus Prime is a bit flashy though, don’t you think?” With a laugh, Prowl gives the pteranodon a few last pats before getting up and tending to the triceratops again, who had begun to cry out begging for more attention “Poor thing... hardly even a cycle before your sibling pulled me away.”

The triceratops merrily shoves his snout into Prowl’s servos, with what can almost be read as a smile tracing across his snout. Of course, the pteranodon wouldn’t let this come to pass without throwing yet another tantrum. Squirming and whining, he readies up another screech until he feels a heavy, clawed servo plopped on his helm.

“If you quiet up, I’ll get you out next.”

The pteranodon immediately hushes up.

“It’s... not too troubling if I ask how you earned your name, right?” Prowl asks. He never stopped to think on it, but with a name like Bulkhead... he can imagine it might be a bit of a sore spot. Though, Prowl found it difficult to process the name with any negative connotations. He knows Bulkhead as the name of a courageous, powerful bot who wants to do right by others.

“No, no, it’s fine! My sergeant was a major pain in the aft and he thought ‘Bulkhead’ suited me cause he thought I was,” He answers, taking his servo off the pteranodon’s helm to make quotation marks in the air “‘Thick in the helm,’ or something.”

“With all of your space bridge know-how? Your sergeant clearly didn’t know who he was dealing with.” Prowl says as he moves a servo to scratch behind one of the triceratops’ horns. “How about this. Instead, it can refer to... the bulk of knowledge in your head?”

Bulkhead blinks and starts laughing.

“Hey, I kinda like that! The bulk of my knowledge! Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?” Bulkhead looks down at Grimlock with a big smile.

Grimlock answers with an abrupt chomp down on his servo.

“ _ HEY!! _ ”

“Grimlock, stop that! He’s almost done getting you free!” Prowl’s tone mirrors that of the adult humans they’ve seen out and about Detroit speaking to their smaller humans. What are they called… mentors?

Grimlock grumbles, letting go reluctantly.

“Me want out already!”

Bulkhead sighs and aims his wrecking ball.

“Alright, alright! Just one more good shot should do it!” He takes aim with great precision before launching the wrecking ball one last time.

_ CRACK! _

Both the triceratops and the pteranodon stop to watch, as Bulkhead grabs Grimlock around the middle and starts trying to heave him out.

“Okay, I think I gave you just enough room to get out, but I’m gonna need you to move your legs and-“

Bulkhead can’t so much get another sound out before Grimlock starts scrambling to get up, kicking and wiggling and shoving all the while! With a good yank on Bulkhead’s end, Grimlock is finally free. But his scrambling doesn’t stop there, continuing onward until he’s off the slab and running around on the ground.

“Easy, easy! Sheesh, you’re out, you’re fine!” Bulkhead rubs his helm watching Grimlock go as Prowl swiftly sprints over to the edge to get a look.

He only runs around for a second though, before kicking his legs a little and springing up, throwing himself onto the grass and rolling all around, getting any dust or bits of asphalt off as he goes along. Prowl smirks at the sight. All he needed was a little understanding, and look at him now. So full of carefree energy, no destructive intent, delightfully infectious. That’s certainly no ‘mindless machine’ if he’s ever seen one.

“Try to keep the noise to a minimum. We don’t want anyone hearing and cutting this lovely little moment short.” Prowl calls out. Though the park is certainly dead, it’s better safe than sorry.

“Me will, me will!!” He gives a very happy rumble and a giggle to himself as he rolls over, before turning onto his stomach and happily sprawling out, laying there with full intention to nap.

Prowl turns back around to look at Bulkhead, smile still adorning his faceplate. Bulkhead’s a little surprised at the grin, staring for a nanoklik before he joyfully returns it. A genuine smile from Prowl felt like such a rarity, he can’t help but savor it.

“You haven’t saved the day just yet,” Prowl points out, motioning to the other two, who have begun to get restless at the sight of their brother’s glee. They want to join in too!

“I know, I’ve got my work cut out for me!” Bulkhead turns and looks at the pteranodon and the triceratops.

“I said I’d get you out next, buddy, so I will.” He steps over toward the pteranodon, who’s happily fidgeting and squawking with excitement. The triceratops, meanwhile, makes a noise signaling Prowl to come back over to him.

“Don’t wander off, alright?” Prowl calls out to Grimlock, though it looks as if he’s quite content as he is. Grimlock hardly replies. He simply gives a lazy wag of his tail, and a loud, happy purr.

With a shake of his head Prowl returns to the trike. The hapless bot needs a nice distraction until it’s his turn.

“Given these two are smaller, it shouldn’t be much longer until we can head off...” Crouching and starting off with some nice scritches behind the horn on his snout. The triceratops enthusiastically sticks his tongue out, once again absolutely devouring the attention. He knows cars and trucks bad, car and truck robots worse and all that junk, but these two.... these two are good... Maybe not all car and truck robots are so bad after all.

“Yea, this one here’s not too bad. I can get him out pretty easy… but the one you’ve got is  _ real _ stuck.” Bulkhead readies his wrecking ball and fires, cracking the asphalt by the pteranodon who squeals with excitement.

With one more hit of the wrecking ball, the pteranodon gives a good wiggle, and, without even needing Bulkhead’s help, yanks himself up and out all of the way. He gives a good shake and a happy screech, hopping around and nipping at Bulkhead’s digits before moving onto Prowl to nip at his servo some as well. Once done, he quickly stretches his wings and takes off, playfully flying low to them and circling them all. Bulkhead gives a little chuckle at the sight, and Prowl looks up to watch with a grin. The pteranodon follows Grimlock’s lead and lands on the grass, hopping over to his older brother to sit and rest as well.

Prowl gives the trike one last rub behind the horn with a reassuring nod, before stepping back to give Bulkhead room to work, peering over the edge past his accomplice. He takes a seat, stabilizing servos dangling off the edge, watching how peaceful the two of them are now. It’s a spark-warming sight. Hard to believe these were the same Dinobots tearing up the park from just a few megacycles ago.

Bulkhead’s already turned his focus to the triceratops, knowing he would be eagerly awaiting his turn. Bulkhead wastes no time slamming the wrecking ball down beside the triceratops, the asphalt giving a loud  _ CRUNCH _ as it gives way.

There. He thinks he’s given the big guy enough space to get out! The triceratops gives a wiggle, though, and looks up at Bulkhead expectantly for help with big, sad, pleading optics.

“Come on, you big lug…” Gently, Bulkhead grabs him around the middle and starts pulling him up, expecting him to start trying to climb out any nanoklik now.

That wouldn’t be the case. The triceratops, in fact, goes a little limp in his arms as he’s being picked up, only wiggling his legs at the bare minimum to mock taking action. The look in his optics is far too content, as Bulkhead completely pulls him out of the asphalt. Upon hearing the final crack of freedom, Prowl glances behind him to get a good look. What he didn’t expect to see was Bulkhead carrying the triceratops like a big protoform. He could take a good guess at who was the youngest of the trio.

“He’s such a protoform for a bot who’s never been a protoform.” Prowl pokes funs.

Bulkhead lets out a huff.

“Yeah, and he’s real heavy for a protoform, too!” Bulkhead starts trying to set him down, but he makes such a dejected noise as he squirms to cling onto Bulkhead’s arm to the best of his ability.

“Look, you big baby! I’m not carrying you!” The triceratops looks up at Bulkhead with the saddest optics he could manage, like one of those... What did Sari say it was? Puppies? Bulkhead frowns. “No!”

“Bulkhead...” Prowl pushes himself back up, walking over as he looks at the poor thing. “I don’t think he  _ can _ get down alone.” He gestures to the Dinobot’s quadruple pedes, visibly lacking any form of claws or opposable digits.

Bulkhead blinks and lifts the triceratops up a bit more to get a look at his legs.

“Oh... uh.. right.. I guess we gotta figure out a way to get him down then.”

Prowl holds a servo up to his chin, contemplating.

“You could wedge your wrecking ball into the asphalt to slowly lower yourself carrying him... of course, we’d have to cover those tracks.”

“I think… if he jumped off, I could catch him. That might not be as identifiable?”

“Are you certain that’s a good idea?” Prowl takes another good look at how stubby those legs are.

“Yeah, I think I can catch him! It’ll be no problem, I can totally manage it!” Bulkhead did want to impress Prowl just a little more, despite the fact that he has already done plenty to help, and has undoubtedly improved Prowl’s opinion of him tenfold since he showed up.

“Bulkhead.” Prowl speaks sternly, putting a firm, but gentle servo on his arm “For his safety, and yours.”

Bulkhead could catch the hint of concern in Prowl’s optics through the ninja-bot’s visor. He looks down at the triceratops in his servos, who seems quite satisfied in his current position.

“Alright, I’ll lower us down with the wrecking ball.” Bulkhead gives a small sigh.

“Thank you... I’ll stand on top to keep watch.”

“Now, how am I gonna carry you with only one servo..?” Bulkhead mutters, once again, looking down at the triceratops. The triceratops holds no answers, though. He simply gives a happy wiggle of his tail as he looks back at the big bot.

Bulkhead rolls his optics a little and sets him down. The triceratops isn’t thrilled about this, making a fairly disappointed little noise. Rather than try and climb back into Bulkhead’s arms, though, he plods his pity party over to Prowl. At least THIS ONE will give him attention.

“Now, isn’t this care much easier to receive when you’re not trying to fry us?” Prowl plops a servo onto the Dinobot’s helm, with a small shake of his own.

The triceratops rumbles happily. Yes, he’s experienced the lap of luxury now that he’s calmed down and he doesn’t want to look back. You just can’t get it good like this when you’re trying to level a city.

Bulkhead, meanwhile, takes aim carefully and gives a good hard launch of his wrecking ball into the asphalt next to the hollow where Grimlock was just encased, giving a good tug to make sure it’s nice and wedged. The resistance feels safe enough, and it’s not a long way down.

“Alright, I think I’ve got it. C’mere you big baby, let’s get you down!”

The triceratops happily trots over to Bulkhead and stands next to him, rocking full of excitement. Bulkhead wraps an arm around him and heaves him up, carefully holding him under his arm like he’s a sack of luggage.

Now, this triceratops was pretty cumbersome, even in comparison to Bulkhead of all bots, and Bulkhead struggles just a bit keeping a good grip on him. Nonetheless, he backs up and starts trying to ease the two of them down the side of the asphalt slab.

Prowl walks closer, standing over the edge, watching how much care Bulkhead is putting into their descent. Keeping a dutiful lookout to make sure no one comes around and busts them, sure, but it’s difficult to peel his optics away from such a diligent Bulkhead.

_ See? He has nothing to worry about… _

Is what Prowl  _ was _ thinking until he hears a loud tumbling and clanking below, the wrecking ball flying past him and slamming onto the ground.

Thankfully, Bulkhead broke the trike’s fall.

The triceratops takes his sweet time, lying right on top of Bulkhead. It takes him a few good moments until he scrambles back up, trampling Bulkhead some more in the process, to get up and trot over to his brothers. Defeated, Bulkhead lies there, a faceplate so grouchy one would think it belonged to Ratchet. He could see right up above him was Prowl, peeking down at him over the edge. With a groan, Bulkhead rolls over and up, looking after the triceratops, who had already flopped over on the grass with the other Dinobots.

“ _ You’re welcome! _ ”

Prowl shakes his helm with a grin.

“You want to come back up and make the dent less conspicuous so we can get out of here?”

Bulkhead pushes himself onto his pedes and dusts himself off, grumbling a little.

“Yeah, Yeah, I’ll fix it… Or... bust it up more, I guess.”

Clumsily, Bulkhead begins to climb back up the slab. What he didn’t expect to see was Prowl holding out a servo for him. Bulkhead gladly takes it, though yanking Prowl a bit when he pulls himself back up on top. Not that Prowl didn’t expect as much.

At that moment, their servos linger. They never really had a chance to observe what a lovely night this was, the soft chirping of crickets finally audible without the cracking and snapping of the asphalt. In any other instance, perhaps Prowl would have commented on the tranquility of the wind gently rustling the leaves, or the captivations this planet had to offer. This serene Summer’s night was theirs to admire, they earned it, but all that was running through their processors was the sight of the other’s smiling faceplate, illuminated by the moonlight and the soft glow of the city in the distance.

Admiration mirrored between each other’s optics, their sparks pulse in their chest plates, dancing in unison, with a thrill that derives from something beyond their accomplishment tonight.

After what feels like it’s been stellar cycles, Prowl finally pulls away, giving Bulkhead an encouraging pat on the arm and moving ahead.

Bulkhead can’t tear his gaze from Prowl as he walks past, stopping at the edge to keep an optic on the Dinobots. Such grace in his every step. Has Prowl always been this sleek and well polished…? Bulkhead shakes his helm, finally snapping out of his trance, and almost too promptly gets to work on covering their tracks.

\- - -

The Dinobots enjoy their own moment of peace, loafing around in the grass, full of relief that they can finally stretch their tails and wings and rest comfortably after the day’s events. Even the sound of Bulkhead working away high above them does little to disturb them.

As he watches on from the slab, it occurs to Prowl, this was likely the first time since their creation the Dinobots ever got to just enjoy being outside. The first time they ever truly feel relaxed. In the plush grass, no fighting, no cars or humans surrounding them, just lying down and keeping to themselves.

Soon, it was silent again.

Prowl hears Bulkhead’s steps coming up behind him, glancing to see him join his side in looking over the Dinobots.

“It’s a remarkable difference, isn’t it?”

“What, the fact that they’re not trying to rip anything apart? Sure is… Kinda makes it hard to think they’d ever tear anything up, huh…”

“If only the others could see them now... though for now, I believe it’s best if this is kept between just the two of us.”

“Yeah, I figure boss bot wouldn’t be too happy to hear about this..”

“Not that ‘boss bot’ has much to be upset about in this situation. He’s not the one that was going to be melted down for spare parts.”

“We’d better get going to the island, then. The sun’s gonna come up soon.”

With that, Prowl gives Bulkhead a nod, and with gracefulness on full display, he jumps down to the ground from the top of the slab, sticking an elegant landing right on his pedes. All Bulkhead could do was watch in awe. It was as if Prowl was as light as all those little billowing leaves…

_ Come on Bulkhead, snap out of it. Time to focus! _

Quickly, Bulkhead takes a step back before following suit, jumping off.

His landing? Well, he was more like the whole tree than a billowing leaf. But he manages to stick it all the same!

… With a little bit of a balance check, of course.

“You’ve improved.” Prowl says with a smirk, arms crossed. Bulkhead gives a big grin, rubbing the back of his helm.

“Well… I  _ did _ learn from the best.”

That earns another smile from Prowl. Though, once Bulkhead stops to think about it, he’s not sure he saw Prowl ever stop smiling since they were both up there, and…

Nah, that can’t be right.

“Alright, it’s time for all of us to start our journey.” Prowl says, walking over to the cuddly pile of Dinobots, placing a servo on Grimlock’s helm to pet. “You’ll have plenty of time to rest once we make it to the island... we shouldn’t linger, someone could catch us.”

Grimlock gives a loud hum.

“But us Dinobots tired...” He cracks an optic open to look up at Prowl.

“We’re all very tired... I promise, once we get where we’re going, you’ll never have to get up again if you’d like.”

Grimlock gives a rumble and gets up, stretching out extra good.

“Me Grimlock like the sound of that!”

Grimlock turns to look at the other two Dinobots, still lazing away.

“ _ Get up!! _ ” He moves his head back as if intending to hit the two of them with it, and while the pteranodon manages to hop out of the way with an angry screech, the triceratops isn’t quick enough, getting knocked over onto his side. All he can respond with is a weary, aggravated yell, wiggling his legs in the air. He’s tired, Grimlock! Don’t be so pushy! But, he rolls back over onto his stomach to stand up all the same, giving a good shake once he does.

“That’s one way to get them up...” Prowl returns to Bulkhead’s side, glancing at the Dinobots expectantly to follow.

Using his holographic projector, he projects a map of the city suspended right in front of them, various dots and lines plotting out their intended route.

“Now, as you can see,” Prow says, pointing out a dot that had begun to blink. “We’ll need to stick to this path as far from the heart of the city and human activity as possible.” Tracing his finger along one of the lines, he continues. “It shouldn’t take us long to make it to the docks, though we’ll have to be very careful. That means noise to an  _ absolute minimum. _ ”

Bulkhead gives a nods along, looking the map over.

“I think we can manage that.”

Bulkhead and Prowl look at the Dinobots, waiting for their confirmation. Instead, Grimlock tries to push his nose into the projection, the map now sitting on his huge snout, illuminating his face. The pteranodon follows up by trying to bite it off Grimlock’s face. This action, of course, misses the holographic map entirely, causing him to bite Grimlock. This begins a bit of a scuffle between the two Dinobots, snapping and pushing at each other.

“No, Dinobots, stop! Noise to a MINIMUM, remember?” Prowl turns off the projection, hands motioning to keep it down in an attempt to calm them without having to jump directly in the middle of their squabble. With the pteranodon’s whole wing in his mouth, Grimlock freezes at Prowl’s command. He drops him like an angry sack of rocks, though, much to the pteranodon’s annoyance.

“ _ Hmph. _ Him started it!”

Bulkhead crosses his arms.

“I might’ve been a little off the mark on how easy we could manage being quiet.”

“ _ Thank Primus you came up with the idea to lead them away from the city in the first place or else this would be much more difficult... _ ” Prowl mutters with a sigh and crosses his arms as well. “We need to get going... we only have maybe a megacycle and a half left. By the time we make it to the island, it’ll just be sunrise, and we don’t want to make it back home too late...”

Bulkhead looks down at Prowl.

“What’s gonna be our excuse if anybody asks?”

“Still working on that.”

With that, Prowl begins to lead the way out of the park, Bulkhead by his side and the Dinobots trailing behind. As they walk along, a dead security drone litters their path. Gently, Prowl kicks it aside and out of their way.

“Sheesh, you really went all out didn’t you?”

“What? I had to take the drones out early, they could have compromised this whole mission.”

“You don’t think… those Sumdac bots also have sparks, do you?”

“Unless Sari’s been running rampant with the key, I sincerely doubt that-”

_ CRUNCH. _

Prowl and Bulkhead pause at the sound, turning around to be greeted by the sight of Grimlock gnawing on the unfortunate drone like an oversized chew toy.

“… Well. Harder to trace the assassination back to me that way.” Prowl moves on ahead with the other two Dinobots right behind.

“Grimlock... C’mon, buddy, don’t... don’t eat that... let’s go…” Bulkhead stops, glancing at Grimlock, before quickening up his pace to return right by Prowl’s side.

Grimlock spits out the drone, and catches up with the bunch.

All was done, and the group was leaving this little incident behind them, with only a shattered block of asphalt left as any indication of their presence that night.

For the five, a bright new day was ahead of them. The Dinobots could live their solar cycles out peacefully , not a single car or truck or car-robot around to cause them any distress — though admittedly,  _ some _ car-robots weren’t so bad.

As for their saviors, the approaching sunrise would continue to nurture the seeds of a bond that had taken root far deeper than the two had yet realized.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my love letter to my favorite episode in all of TFA! This is the first fic I've written and published since 2007 so I'm very excited to be sharing it, especially for an episode so near and dear to me. <3
> 
> This fic was adapted from an RP with my boyfriend (@krickficet on Twitter), who I asked to help me out with writing Bulkhead and the Dinobot's bits. We roleplayed the scenario I had laid out, and I took that RP and adapted it to fanfic from there, doing all the editing, reformatting, rewriting etc. It was a joint effort, and It's all the more special being something he helped me out to realize.
> 
> I would also like to give a thank you to my friends who helped beta read the fic and helped me with polishing it up some more!
> 
> Additional Notes:
> 
> 1\. I retconned Prowl not knowing that Bulkhead is a space bridge genius even though this is tagged canon compliant because I think it's silly he doesn't know that and it's not so impactful on canon that it makes a huge difference.


End file.
